Panoptic Enterprises' FEDERAL CONTRACTS DISPATCH

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

ACTION: Proposed Rule

SYNOPSIS: It is proposed that FAR Subpart 8.5, Acquisition of Helium, and FAR 52.208-8, Helium Requirement Forecast and Required Sources for Helium, be amended to implement the U.S. Department of the Interior's 1998 rule regarding helium contracts.

DATES: Interested parties should submit comments on or before March 12, 2001, to be considered in the formulation of a final rule.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: On December 3, 1998, the Department of the Interior issued a final rule revising its regulations pertaining to helium acquisition. This proposed rule would amend FAR Subpart 8.5 and FAR 52.208-8 to conform with Interior's revised helium regulations as follows:

In FAR 8.501, Definitions, the definitions for "bureau helium distributor" and "helium requirement forecast" would be removed (helium forecasts are no longer required), and a definition for "federal helium supplier" ("a private helium vendor...on the BLM [Bureau of Land Management] Amarillo Field Office's Authorized List of Federal Helium Suppliers available via the Internet at http://www.nm.blm.gov/www/amfo/amfo_home.html") would be added, and the definition for "major helium requirement" ("an estimated refined helium requirement greater than 200,000 standard cubic feet (scf) (measured at 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute pressure and 70 degrees Fahrenheit temperature) of gaseous helium or 7510 liters of liquid helium delivered to a helium use location per year") would be revised (the current definition is "a helium requirement during a calendar month of 5,000 or more standard cubic feet...").

FAR 8.502, Policy, would be revised to state "agencies and their contractors and subcontractors must purchase major helium requirements from federal helium suppliers, to the extent that supplies are available."

FAR 8.504, Procedures, would be revised to require contracting officers to provide "the name of any company that supplied a major helium requirement; the amount of helium purchased; the delivery date(s); and the location where the helium was used" to the BLM within 45 days of the close of each fiscal quarter. (EDITOR'S NOTE: The proposed revision to FAR 52.208-8 would require the contractor or subcontractor to provide this information to the contracting officer within 10 days after receiving a delivery of helium from a federal helium supplier.)

FAR 52.208-8 would be revised to reflect the changes made to FAR Subpart 8.5.